History

This photograph was taken by the Mercury in the mid 1950’s. This copy was ordered and kindly donated to the Ouse Community History Room by John and Libby Shoobridge.

The Hamilton District Agricultural Show was formed following a meeting of Soldier Settler Farmers in the early 1950’s. It was originally held in the Spring months, but due to the work commitments of the committee members, it was changed to an Autumn event.

Now in it’s 67th year, the show has been successfully run for all of but two of these years due to natural disaster.

In 1960 flooding greatly effected the area, and saw the concrete bridge across the Clyde River washed away, ending up on the grassed area in front of the grandstand at the Hamilton Show Grounds!

Again in 1967, the show was cancelled this time due to the bush fires. Consequently the Show Committee arranged to join forces with some Hayes Jail Farm prisoners – and their supervising wardens, to help split fence posts to be used for the rebuilding of fences destroyed by the fires.

The main objective of this show is to promote agriculture in the Central Highlands and Upper Derwent Valley. This show also aims to bridge the gap between folk in the city, food festivals and primary producers.

While the format has changed slightly over the years, the emphasis is still placed on wool, sheep, cattle and more recently miniature goats and ‘Temptations of the Valley’, offering food and beverages that feature local produce.